rogue Posted August 17, 2005 Author Share Posted August 17, 2005 Update: I started the car up on the bad motor, pulled out into the road and turned it around, then backed into the garage. It runs, but badly. Last night we finally did a compression test on the motor before I pull it, just to see what we're up against. I started a pool on the results over at NASIOC... no one guessed right The car has compression of: 0 psi 0 psi 0 psi 200 psi. Yes. One cylinder good. The rest, ZERO. How it can still drive is beyond me! I'm looking at both sourcing a new engine and some used heads to fix this one right now, I'll let you guys know how the teardown goes when I get this motor out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogue Posted August 21, 2005 Author Share Posted August 21, 2005 Further update: Tore the motor down today in-car. You can see where the valve tips hit the pistons, not much damage but I guess enough to bend the stems or the guide. I'll post up pics later. I have new (old) heads that're getting refreshed this week. 1990, baby! I'm going to redo all the soft bits on them, transport my cam angle sensor over, and bolt them up. In theory, the Brighton will be running again by the end of the week after only some gasket work. Wish me luck! Better, wish that I never do the series of stupid maneuvers to destroy a motor that I did a few weeks ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I do not recommend a remanufactured engine, because of the same problems of doing it yourself...too many things that can go wrong if it wasn't rebuilt just right. And the nimrods who rebuild the remans don't care as much as you do, so less careful.QUOTE] Thats assuming the rebuilders are nimrods. I know they can be, but they arent ALL nimrods and assuming they care less about the engine than you do is really stupid. Believe it or not there are Subaru fanatics out there building engines for a living. This is a simple repair if you take your time. The shortblock should be okay with some dings on the pistons but otherwise fine. Clean the block to head surfaces, have the heads rebuilt by a machine shop so they valves get a 3 angle cut and are properly replaced, and then reinstall the engine to the car. Believe it or not, the Ej25 is not an improvement to your situation. The have twice the number of cams and subsequently more moving parts, along with a BAD track record for head gaskets. Sorry but the little horsepower gain is not worth it. If you like the need for valve adjustment that pretty much only can be done by a Subaru dealer because you need so many parts and cant really do it in the car, then the Ej25 is for you! (statement excludes the 96 2.5 Hyd lifter engine) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Just to help you not repeat your mistake. Cam gears have arrows on them. Make sure they point at 2:00 and the notch in the side of the gear is at 12:00. The solid lines on the new timing belt (USE A NEW ONE!), line up on the 12:00 marks. The crank gear has a notch for 12:00, make sure thats pointed at 12 and that another mark at 3:00 is pointed at 3, dont make it so you have 9 and 12 on the crank. The Key for the crank pulley should be at the bottom if you have it right. Also be sure you dont follow the manual on the crank pulley bolt torque. Books say around 80 pounds, it should be around 120. A healthy 1/2" impact gun will torque it properly. Use Locktite on the bolt. If your belt tensioner looks like a long tube with two bolt on ears, you can re-compress it in a Vise. If it doesnt, then either get a new one (recommended) or take it to a Subaru dealer to have them re-compress it for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 The car has compression of: 0 psi 0 psi 0 psi 200 psi. Yes. One cylinder good. The rest, ZERO. How it can still drive is beyond me! QUOTE] Cuz its a Subaru. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogue Posted September 4, 2005 Author Share Posted September 4, 2005 Update: I put the heads from a 1990 Legacy EJ22 FWD auto in the car, after thorough cleaning. The exhaust ports were different (dual instead of the 97's single port on each head) and I swapped the cam angle sensor over... and that's it. Oiled it up, hand-cranked it a few times, started. Runs like new. Will wonders never cease. +17 for Subaru and their interchangeability of parts. And thanks so much to everyone here for your help and advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I do not recommend a remanufactured engine, because of the same problems of doing it yourself...too many things that can go wrong if it wasn't rebuilt just right. And the nimrods who rebuild the remans don't care as much as you do, so less careful.QUOTE] Thats assuming the rebuilders are nimrods. I know they can be, but they arent ALL nimrods and assuming they care less about the engine than you do is really stupid. Believe it or not there are Subaru fanatics out there building engines for a living. This is a simple repair if you take your time. The shortblock should be okay with some dings on the pistons but otherwise fine. Clean the block to head surfaces, have the heads rebuilt by a machine shop so they valves get a 3 angle cut and are properly replaced, and then reinstall the engine to the car. Believe it or not, the Ej25 is not an improvement to your situation. The have twice the number of cams and subsequently more moving parts, along with a BAD track record for head gaskets. Sorry but the little horsepower gain is not worth it. If you like the need for valve adjustment that pretty much only can be done by a Subaru dealer because you need so many parts and cant really do it in the car, then the Ej25 is for you! (statement excludes the 96 2.5 Hyd lifter engine) I'm glad you addressed this stuff. +1 to everything. The OP surely agrees too. A fresh set of heads later and his car is good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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